The Wonders of the Colorado Desert (Southern California) Its Rivers and its Mountains, its Canyons and its Springs, its LIfe anJames, George Wharton
Boston:
Little, Brown, and Compant,
1906.
First edition. Two volumes. xliv, 270pp, illus, folding map; xiv, 271-547pp, illus. Some external wear and soil, spines faded, hinges starting, overall a very good set. The extended title continues, "Including an Account of a Recent Journey made down the Overflow of the Colorado River to the Mysterious Salton Sea." James (1858-1923) was an indefatigable self-promoter, observer, and writer, having penned some 40 books and innumerable articles and pamphlets many on the American Southwest. His writing leans toward romanticism, and enthusiasm for natural environments, idealization of aboriginal lifeways, and health faddism. The "mysterious" Salton Sea of the title was caused by the Colorado River breaching an Imperial Valley dike in 1905 after a year of heavy rainfall and snowmelt. It took two years to restore the rivers' previous channel and was thus still filling when James visited. Farquhar says of the account, "The best starting point for any study of he Colorado Desert, which paradoxically is closely associated with the River. The illustrations, both those from sketches and those from photographs, are of considerable historical importance, as are the chapters relating to the Salton Sea." Farquhar The Books of the Colorado River & Grand Canyon 85, Howes J44.

A History: Greeley and the Union Colony of Colorado.Boyd, David
Greeley, CO:
The Greeley Tribune Press,
1890.
448pp, illus, errata slip. Original boards. Light scraping to boards, owner's bookplate, else near fine. Laid in is a clipped signature of David Boyd and a letter of transmittal from his son, a gravure image of Boyd, and a couple of more or less relevant newspaper clippings. The Union Colony of Colorado (also called the Greeley Colony and The Union Temperance Colony) was a joint stock company formed to promote agricultural settlement in the South Platte River valley in the Colorado Territory. Organized in October 1869 by Nathan Meeker in order to establish a religiously-oriented utopian community of "high moral standards," the colony was founded the following year at present-day Greeley, Colorado, which was established by the colony in March 1870. It was financed and promoted by New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, a prominent advocate of settlement of the American West. The colony greatly advanced homesteading and irrigation usage in northern Colorado, demonstrating the viability of cultivation at a time when agriculture was emerging as a rival of mining as the basis for the territorial economy. The company eventually dissolved (although Greeley remained dry until 1972) and the town became a routinely prosperous agricultural town. This is a detailed history of the experiment by one of the participants. Herd 296, Henkle 1220.

A Kansas Hell, or Life in the Kansas Penitentiary.Reynolds, John H.
Atchison, KS:
1889.
frontis, 255pp. Spine lightly faded, slightly cocked, previous owner's name on front ffep, possibly original owner, dated 1889 and original bookstore stamp on fpd, else a very good copy. Reynolds spent sixteen months in residence at the Kansas State Penitentiary for fraud and this is his account. Included are several sketches of fellow inmates and guards, as well as the sufferings of hard labor. A scarce item. Adams missed it in Six-Guns and Saddle Leather (although he does list Reynolds' second book on prison life), it appears in none of the usual bibliographies, and the Eberstadts never offered it.

A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner...James, Edwin
Minneapolis:
Ross & Haines, Inc,
1956.
Frontis, 427pp. Very good in a worn but complete dj. Reprint of a scare captivity narrative originally published in 1830. Tanner was abducted from his home in 1789 at the age of nine and spent thirty years with the Ojibway, becoming Indian in every way but ancestry. His attempt to reassimilate into white society was unsuccessful, but his narrative is a vivid account of Indian life.

An Accompaniment to Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States.Mitchell, Samuel A.
Philadelphia:
Mitchell and Hinman,
1834.
First edition. 324pp. Original half leather and paper covered boards. Externally rubbed, internally foxed, withal a very good copy. Intended to accompany a wall map, the first 176 pages of this book serve as a finding key to places and rivers. The last third of the volume describes individual states, including a narrative description, population statistics, and internal improvements (stage lines, canals, and rail roads). Of particular interest are the chapters on the western territories of Oregon, Missouri (that area north of the State of Missouri between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains), and "Ouisconsin" Territory. Howes M684.

An Historical Account of the Incorporated Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts...Humphreys, David, D.D.
London
Joseph Downing
1730
xxxi, 356pp, 2 folding maps. Full leather, hinges expertly reinforced. Pages slightly browned, maps bright. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was an Anglican missionary created in 1701 to restore spirituality to the church in America. The labors of the society embraced the British colonies from the Carolinas to New England. This volume was compiled from papers transmitted to the Society by Governors of colonies, religious congregations, missionaries, or persons of note abroad. It contains accounts of Yamassee and Tuscaraora wars in Carolina, the New York slave insurrections of 1712, the Four Indian Kings who traveled to England, and a 1715 New York edition of a Mohawk prayer book. The maps are important. They are A Map of the Province of Carolina Divided into its Parishes &c. and A Map of New England. New York, New Jersey and Pensilvania (sic). Both are by Herman Moll, approximately 14 by 15 inches, and are dated 1730. Sabin 33801, Siebert Sale 141 (where it realized $3,185), Howes H795.

Appletons' General Guide to the United States and Canada... Part II, Western and Southern States.(Travel).
New York:
D. Appleton and Company,
1883.
xiv, 265-502pp, illus, 8 folding maps bound in, folding map in rear pocket, errata slip, plus unpaginated advertising front and back. Original printed boards, some soil to edges, else very good. A detailed guide to the places and routes along America's railroads; although, the railroad map of the United States in the back pocket clearly shows that the south and west are relatively under served compared to the north and east. Only one transcontinental route is shown on the map, but the text makes reference to the recently completed Texas Pacific route. There is much of interest, including a grand tour to the Rocky Mountains on the Union Pacific for $38 round trip.

Aspen on the Roaring Fork.Wentworth, Frank L.
Lakewood, CO:
Francis B. Rizzari,
1950.
Second edition, limited to 600 copies. xiv, 353pp, illus, folding map. Very slight wear externally, small owner's address sticker on ffep, else bright and near fine. A history of the settlement and early development of Aspen originally published in a very limited edition in 1935. The folding map in a back pocket is a facsimile of the 1893 bird's eye view.

Biennial Report State Engineer of Wyoming 1895-96.Mead, Elwood
Cheyenne:
State of Wyoming;
1897.
232pp, illus. Original printed wrappers. Slight soil and wear, else very good. Much technical information - water flow, discharge tables, official forms - but including descriptions of waterways and discussion on the importance of regulating water in arid lands. Of interest are the description of conditions at the Big Horn Hot Springs - not very good - and a study of irrigation districts in Spain.

Cache la PoudreMyrick, Herbert
NY:
Orange Judd Company
1905.
202pp, illus. Some of the tipped in illustrations have their corners creased, else very good. This the limited edition, one of 500 bound in "Indian Smoke tanned buckskin" with a fringe. The illustrations are by Schreyvogel, Deming and Fangel along with many documentary photographs. The text combines fiction with history; many of the photos are of real characters of the old west and cowboy life. There is much on Custer, and while fictional, Dustin comments "...there is a realism that does not offend." Dykes nominates it as a High Spot of Western Illustration (#36). The fringed leather binding is unusual and attractive. Herd 1596 "rare", Dustin 476, Howes M935.

Cattle Cavalcade in Central Colorado.Everett, George G.
Denver:
Golden Bell Press,
1966.
[xvi], 446pp, illus. Slight soil to dj, else near fine. An account of cattle in Chaffee County, Custer County, El Paso County, Fremont County, Gunnison County, Jefferson Territory, Lake County, Park County, Pitkin County, & Saguache County from 1860 to 1966.

Cherokees and Missionaries, 1789-1839.McLoughlin, William G.
New Haven:
Yale University Press,
1984.
xiii, 375pp. Some damp staining to the dust jacket and short tears, book near fine. In 1789 George Washington's administration announced that American Indians would receive equal citizenship as soon as they were "civilized and Christianized." This describes the role various denominations played in the acculturation of Cherokees, and their disillusionment when America abandoned the experiment. Apparently scarce in hard cover.

Chinatown Declared a Nuisance!Workingmen's Party of California (WPC)
(San Francisco):
NP,
(1880)
16pp. Disbound. Dampstain along the bottom third of the document with no loss or adhesion. Now here's an unpleasant little item. It was distributed by the Workingmen's Party of California (WPC) calling for the "abatement" of Chinatown as a health menace. The Workingmen's Party had successfully elected the Rev. Isaac Kalloch mayor in 1879 on a platform to crack down on the cities' wicked ways, but was continually opposed by the established powers. The four sections of this pamphlet include an attack on the national Republican Party, the Governor of California and the legislature for their refusal to listen to o=complaints about the Chinese, a resolution to the Department of Health to have Chinatown declared a nuisance, and a speech by Mayor Kalloch in which he declares, "The Chinese must go, peacefully, if we can, forcibly, if we must." Finally, there is a description of the foul conditions within Chinatown locating opium dens, and houses of prostitution by address. Cowan p. 116.

Cities of the American West; A History of Frontier Urban Planning.Reps, John W.
Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press,
1979.
pp. xii, 827, illus. Thick, oblong quarto. Near fine in slipcase. A massive history of urban planning on the frontier. Reps' argument is that rather than being produced by random growth, western towns were carefully planned and that they preceded agriculture as the driving force of settlement. With 500 illustrations (32 in color) this is virtually an historical atlas of western towns.

Colorado in Color and Song.Thayer, Frank S.
Denver:
Frank S. Thayer,
1899.
Color frontispiece plus 12 color plates each accompanied by a poem. Square quarto. Stiff paper covers. Slight wear else near fine. The plates are from photographs, although the photographer is not identified. The poetry is uniformly dreadful, but the plates are quite nice showing a variety of scenic wonders, with some town views.

Cowpokes, Nesters & So ForthSims, Judge Orland L.
Austin:
Encino Press,
1970.
xii, 297pp, illus. One of a signed, numbered edition of 250 bound in 3/4 leather. Near fine in a slipcase. The Sims family moved to Texas in the 1880Ős and young Orland grew up helping on the ranch and tending his fathers store. As a state legislator and county judge he had dealings with a variety of west Texans including goat herders, rustlers, politicians and many others who didnŐt smell so bad. An outstanding picture of life in Texas early in the last century.

Dakota Land or the Beauty of St. Paul.Hankins, Col.
New York:
Hankins & Son, Publishers,
1868.
First edition. 460pp, [xxiv] advts, illus, folding map. Original printed boards. Some soil and wear to extremities with minor loss of cloth on the spine. Binding sound, internally clean, AEG. A conglomeration of local history, fact and fancy, dreams and revelations, and word pictures of the area. Despite the inventions, the book has value to the historian in its contemporary descriptions of the city and of Minnesota during the 1860's. The folding map (13 by 17 inches) titled Map of the Great North West is by Colton and shows all of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, along with much of Iowa and the eastern portion of a single Dakota. It is not present in all issues. Handcolored. There is a short tear at the gutter and a couple of misfolds, but is bright and crisp.

Dynamite and Six-Shooter.Burton, Jeff
Santa Fe:
Palomino Press;
1970.
viii, 221pp, illus. No dj (as issued?) else near fine. A history of outlaw Tom Ketchum's career on the wrong side of the law and his gang, with extensive research. Published by the Palomino Press, an imprint of the Press of the Territorian, known for its offerings of western history.

Early California Justice.Cosgrave, George
San Francisco:
The Grabhorn Press,
1948.
1st edition. 1 of 400. (x), 97pp, 7 facsimile documents tipped in. Cloth, no dust jacket, spine title chipped and slightly discolored, some pages stained, else tight and very good. Previous owner's name on ffep. A history of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, 1849-1944. A Grabhorn Press imprint.

Edward M. Kern; The Travels of an Artist-Explorer.Heffernan, William Joseph
Bakersfield, CA:
Kern County Historical Society,
1953.
viii, 112, illus, folding map. A couple of nicks from the slightly soiled dj, else near fine. A biography of Edward Kern (1823-1863), an artist-scientist who spent his short career on government explorations including Fremont's third and fourth expeditions.

Edward's Great West and Her Commerical Metropolis...History of St. Louis...Edwards, Richard and M. Hopewell, M.D.
NY:
Edward's Monthly,
1860
[53]-604pp, illus. Full leather with decorative gilt embossing. Expertly recased with original boards and spine, new endpapers, aeg. There is a presentation from Edwards to the Governor of Missouri dated Dec. 24, 1860. A history centering on St. Louis, but with much on the fur trade, early days in the west, Indian fights, the commercial development of St. Louis, and many biographies of prominent citizens. The full page engravings offer bird's eye views of several western cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Certainly one of the more decorative bindings we have had. It is full red leather with much gilt decoration still bright, all edges gilt, and a silver hasp. Howes E69.

Faro Nell and Her Friends.Lewis, Alfred Henry
NY:
G.W. Dillingham Company,
1913.
348pp, advts. 1st edition. Very good in original dust jacket, dj spine faded. Lewis (1858-1914) was a journalist who cranked out a number of popular novels including a series of westerns known collectively as the "Wolfville stories". This is the last in the series concerning Nell and a cast of loveable scamps. It was made into the movie Faro Nell, or in Old Californy (Paramount, 1929). The book has but the slightest soiling and wear but is otherwise tight and near fine. More remarkable still, it still has the original dust jacket. Although the spine is faded and has a minor scuff mark, the cover shows Nell mounted and armed leading a stage coach off to who knows what adventure. Actually, it doesn't really matter, since what you're buying here is the remarkable condition and the flashy dj.

Forgotten Men of Cripple Creek.Spell, Leslie Doyle and Hazel M. Spell
Denver:
Big Mountain Press,
1959.
DJ somewhat soiled with minor loss at top and bottom of spine, else very good. Stories of the people who were "in on the beginning" of the mining camp.

Fort Thornburgh, Utah.(Military)
Washington:
U.S. House of Representatives,
1882.
47th Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives, Ex. Doc. No. 90. 3pp, 27 folding sheets of architectural plans. Removed from the Serial Set and bound in cloth. Some edge chipping to the text and fold separations on the sheets, overall very good. The history of Fort Thornburgh began with the removal of the Ute Indians in Colorado to Utah following the hostilities of 1879. Secretary of War Robert T. Lincoln decided to construct a fort to hold the Utes on the reservation and to quiet any potential hostilities between the Indians and the white population. A final site for the site was selected in the spring of 1882 about 6.5 miles northwest of present day Vernal, Utah. Secretary of War Lincoln proposed an elaborate $84,000 fort consisting of thirty-two brick and frame buildings to house two companies of cavalry and two of infantry. This document is the proposal with elevations, sections, foundation plans, and floor plans for the major buildings, the largest 22 by 18 inches, most smaller. Plans include the post headquarters, officers' quarters, guard house, stables, and many more. The active army seems to have been unimpressed by the proposal. Gen. W. T. Sherman commented in his letter of transmittal, "The necessity for this post was forced on the War Department by the removal of the Utes from Colorado to Utah, but as this is their last ditch, the present Fort Thornburgh will have some chance of permanency. At all events, troops must be maintained there or thereabouts, and cannot exist without shelter." Sherman was wrong about permanency. Congress appropriated but $1,500 for the fort in 1883 and what there was of Fort Thornburgh was officially abandoned sometime during the winter of 1883 or spring of 1884. What remains is this interesting presentation of military architecture never realized.

Hand -Clasp of the East and West.Ripley, Henry and Martha
Denver:
Mrs. Martha Ripley,
1914.
471pp, illus. Original cloth. Some external wear, name on ffep, else very good. The extended title goes on, "A Story of Pioneer Life on the Western Slope of Colorado." A fictionalized account of western emigration.

Historical Address Delivered at the Village of the Pawnee Republic.Martin, Geo. W.
Topeka:
W.Y. Morgan, State Printer,
1900.
37pp. Original printed wrappers, bound into worn hard covers, front free endpaper detached. This is a patriotic speech hung on the early history of Kansas. The "Pawnee Republic" refers to a great village of that tribe where Pike first raised the American flag inn Kansas (or Nebraska). Included are extracts from other addresses in which Martin touches on other historical events.

History of Nevada with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers.Thompson & West
Oakland:
Thompson & West,
1881.
680pp, illus. Rebound in quarter leather, it appears that the rebinder attempted to stain the edges, the effect being uneven with slight bleeding, one page with an old tape repair, another with a couple of places of lost paper not effecting the text, overall a very good copy. Stanley Paher says, "This classic work is the most used and quoted history of any ever issued of the state. It is likely to remain forever the all time Nevada book, for nothing issued since compares to its exhaustive coverage. There is very little worth knowing about Nevada before 1881 that cannot be found in this first statewide Nevada history" Not much I can add to that other than to point out the many engraved portraits of prominent Nevadans and lithographic views of buildings, farms and scenes throughout the state. Paher 27, Howes A273 "b."